Department for Education

Humanities: Degrees

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Higher Education Policy Institute report The Humanities inModern Britain: Challenges and Opportunities,published on 23 September; and what plans they have toensure that humanities degrees teach professionally valuable skills to boost (1) enrolments, and (2) the employment, prospects of humanities graduates.

Baroness Barran: We want every university student, regardless of background, to benefit from a high quality education and go on to pursue successful careers with the skills and knowledge they have studied for.The government is taking forward a manifesto commitment to tackle low quality higher education and drive up standards for all students, no matter what subject they study. Our landmark Skills and Post-16 Education Bill makes clear the power of the Office for Students to take much needed action in this area, including its ability to enforce minimum standards for universities on course completion rates and graduate outcomes.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ethiopia: Unmanned Air Vehicles

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of drones in the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We are aware of reporting that drones are being used in the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. We call for a ceasefire by all sides, including the Ethiopian Government, to end airstrikes. The indiscriminate targeting of civilians, no matter the weapon used, is against international law, and is entirely unacceptable.A joint investigation by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, published on 3 November found reasonable grounds to believe that all parties to the conflict in Tigray have, to varying degrees, committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. The UK will continue to support the UN in the need for independent, transparent and impartial investigations and will work to ensure that those responsible for these atrocities are held to account.

Ethiopia: Aid Workers

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that UN workers providing humanitarian aid are being detained by the Ethiopian authorities.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We are concerned by recent reports of the detention of several UN staff in Ethiopia. Expulsions and detention of key UN personnel will have a direct impact on the ability of the international community to deliver vital humanitarian assistance. On 30 September the Minister for Africa called on the Government of Ethiopia to reverse the decision to expel UN officials from the country. Our concerns were reiterated at the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 4 October where a joint statement was issued by the UK Ambassador to the UN on behalf of over 40 countries, and we also raised this at the UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Ethiopia on 6 October. The British Ambassador to Ethiopia raised our concerns about ongoing detentions with President Sahle-Work on 12 November.

Ethiopia: Peace Negotiations

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We are extremely concerned by the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. The Minister for Africa spoke at a Westminster Hall Debate on 3 November. She stated that there is no military solution and the UK has been clear on this from the start. We have consistently called on all warring parties to end hostilities and seek a political dialogue and peaceful solution. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen on 5 November, where she also made clear there is no military solution and that negotiations are needed to avoid bloodshed and deliver lasting peace. We have made these points repeatedly to the Ethiopian Government and the Tigrayan authorities. We are fully supportive of the African Union (AU)'s mediation efforts, and the Minister for Africa spoke with AU Special Envoy Obasanjo on 4 November, and with AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole on 8 November.

Department of Health and Social Care

Catheters

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the management of urinary catheters in (1) NHS hospitals, and (2) community care facilities.

Lord Kamall: In 2019, the National Health Service developed urinary catheter tools for hospitals, integrated care systems and community settings as part of the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) programme to ensure the effective and safe management of urinary catheters.In addition, the AMR programme for 2021/2022 includes work to support integrated care systems to use RightCare data packs to plan and implement appropriate interventions. Developed in collaboration with the AMR programme, Public Health England and the NHS Business Services Authority, RightCare urinary tract infection data packs are personalised for each clinical commissioning group. The packs provide an opportunity for integrated care systems and trusts to assess and benchmark current systems to find opportunities to improve the management of urinary catheters in the relevant settings.

Prostate Cancer: Tomography

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to restore levels of access to multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging scans for patients with suspected prostate cancer to pre-pandemic levels.

Lord Kamall: During the pandemic, access to multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging scans of the prostate increased. In 2020, 10,780 multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging scans of the prostate were performed, compared to 7,395 in 2019.

Ambulance Services: Staff

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that staff working in ambulances who are not paramedics have to be (1) registered, or (2) regulated.

Lord Kamall: The Government is clear that the statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration. We have no plans to extend statutory regulation to ambulance staff other than paramedics.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the College of Paramedics to the BBC on 11 November about waiting times for ambulances.

Lord Kamall: No assessment has been made. National Health Service ambulance trusts are being supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement to reduce ambulance waiting times. This includes continuous monitoring through the National Ambulance Coordination Centre and the investment of an additional £55 million to increase staff numbers ahead of the winter to recruit more 999 call handlers and clinicians to work in control rooms and supporting frontline staffing capacity.

Ambulance Services: Standards

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current average ambulance waiting time across all NHS ambulance trusts in England; which NHS ambulance trusts in England have the longest waiting times; how this compares to ambulance waiting times in 2019; and how many safety incidents there have been in NHS ambulance trusts in England in 2021 as a result of waiting times.

Lord Kamall: The following table shows the mean average waiting times in hours, minutes and seconds in each category for ambulance trusts in England in October 2021 and compared to October 2019. Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 4October 201900:07:2300:23:4701:14:4801:28:57October 202100:09:2000:53:5403:09:5803:37:00Change+00:01:57+00:30:07+01:55:10+02:08:03 Source: NHS EnglandSouth Western Ambulance Service (SWAS) has the longest mean waiting times across England for Categories 1 and 2. West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has the longest mean waiting times across England for Categories 3 and 4. The following table shows the mean average waiting times in hours, minutes and seconds for SWAS in Categories 1 and 2 and WMAS for Categories 3 and 4 in October 2021 and compared to October 2019.  SWASWMAS Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 4October 201900:07:0200:28:1900:54:0301:15:37October 202100:11:4801:24:2503:59:4504:47:07Change+00:04:46+00:56:06+03:05:42+03:31:30 Source: NHS EnglandThe information requested on the number of safety incidents in National Health Service ambulance trusts as a result of waiting times is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Ivermectin

Viscount Stansgate: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients; and what bodies were involved in any such assessment.

Lord Kamall: The Therapeutics Taskforce is monitoring data from clinical trials taking place worldwide to assess whether ivermectin is a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. Ivermectin is not currently a licensed treatment for COVID-19 and evidence from clinical trials as a treatment for COVID-19 is inconclusive. This assessment is based on the views of the Therapeutics Taskforce, the UK COVID-19 Therapeutics Advisory Panel and the Research to access pathway for investigational drugs for COVID-19. This assessment is also consistent with the views of the World Health Organization, the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. We will continue to keep this assessment under review as more data becomes available from clinical trials, including the Government-funded PRINCIPLE clinical trial.

100,000 Genomes Project

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 100,000 Genomes Project.

Lord Kamall: The 100,000 Genome Project was subject to a final review in July 2019 by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). The IPA rated the 100,000 Genomes Project Gateway 5 as Green and found that the Project has “successfully delivered against its key aims and to the revised time scale, cost and quality”.

NHS: Coronavirus

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all patients in NHS facilities are entitled to ask if those treating them are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Lord Kamall: The NHS Constitution sets out the rights to which patients are entitled, which includes the right to be involved in decisions about their care and the right to be cared for in a clean, safe, secure and suitable environment. However, there is no specific entitlement for patients in National Health Service facilities in relation to asking whether staff treating them are vaccinated.Regulations have been laid which, subject to Parliamentary approval, would introduce COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of the deployment within health and wider social care settings. The Department continues to work with NHS England on engagement with NHS staff who have not yet been vaccinated to encourage them to help protect themselves, their colleagues and the people they care for. Currently more than 92% of NHS staff have received a first dose.

Treasury

Coal: Mining

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer byBaroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 16 November (HL3703), how much expenditure was projected in the 2021 Spending Review for the maintenance of coal tips in England; and what was the Barnett consequential allocated to Wales corresponding to this expenditure.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will confirm the Coal Authority’s funding for the 2021 Spending Review (SR21) period in due course. However, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, the Barnett formula is applied to changes in UK Government departments’ funding, not to total spending on individual programmes. Barnett consequentials therefore just represent the changes in the Welsh Government’s block grant funding, rather than being the total funding provided. As a result of changes in UK Government departments’ funding, the UK Government is providing an additional £2.5 billion per year on average over the SR21 period to the Welsh Government through the Barnett formula, on top their £15.9 billion annual baseline. As noted in response to a previous question on this matter (HL3703) the Welsh Government is therefore more than fairly funded to deal with all devolved responsibilities, including coal tips. It is however for the Welsh Government to allocate this funding as they see fit across their devolved responsibilities.

Employee Ownership: Sharing Economy

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given tocreating a new category of tax advantaged share scheme, analogous to the existing employee share ownership schemes, for which people in the gig economy would be eligible.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The government is not considering creating a new tax-advantaged share scheme for self-employed contractors.The purpose of all the existing schemes is to encourage employee share ownership and support employers' efforts to foster a more enterprising and productive relationship with their employees.Where companies employ staff directly, they may offer tax-advantaged options to their employees through one of the existing schemes.